HP - Chapter 25

Kingdom of Gods 03

The night in the Kingdom of Gods has no stars—only towering skyscrapers rising like a forest, shimmering with neon lights.

A bionic person walked out of the convenience store, deftly and smoothly tapping twice on their temple. A drone buzzed as it flew over. After the bionic person loaded the goods onto it, the drone took off again, gliding past the colorful holographic projection screens and heading toward the train window.

The levitating train sliced through the air like the wind.

Through the gap between two tall buildings, Zhong Xu saw a distant gray tree.

"Senior, shall we board the train?" Ran Ran asked cautiously.

Zhong Xu withdrew her gaze and followed Ran Ran onto the maglev train.

Beep—

Ran Ran swiped her transit card, and also swiped one for Zhong Xu.

It seemed that the gods’ daily lives—clothing, food, housing, and transportation—weren’t much different from those of humans.

After all, these gods were merely roles played by humans.

It was only because they possessed divine power—the Tarot cards—that everything had developed toward greater advancement.

The maglev trains soaring through the sky relied on the energy source of the Chariot card. The Magician and the Sun created robots and imbued them with vitality—thus, bionic beings replaced the workers.

"Ran Ran, is there a leader in the city district?" Zhong Xu asked in a low voice.

With so many players, the fact that they could build a real city and establish a barely orderly society in such a short time must mean there was a commander present.

Ran Ran already knew this was Zhong Xu’s first time entering the city, so she wasn’t surprised by the question.

"Now, most people tend to follow the orders of the Pantheon." She paused, then said gloomily, "There are many gods in the city with as little power as me, so we can only survive under the Pantheon’s protection."

"After all, gods as powerful as you are a minority."

"..." Zhong Xu, holding a blank card, felt a pang of guilt. She shifted the topic. "Since the Pantheon exists, how did that Tomato Head dare to target you?"

"This world... it’s not that orderly yet," Ran Ran said. "I think there are probably quite a few people who want to bypass the Pantheon. In fact, many factions rose in the early stages, but in the end, only powerful ones like the Pantheon—those that were truly helpful to the gods—survived and rose to such heights."

Ran Ran raised her healthy hand and gestured to indicate a height.

"But it was really too terrifying," she said with lingering fear. "I still can’t understand what that Tomato Head was thinking, actually trying to seize a Tarot card! It’s utterly horrifying!"

"..." Zhong Xu, who was also planning to seize one herself, felt guilty again.

After stepping off the maglev train, Zhong Xu suddenly stopped.

"Has anyone been there?"

Ran Ran looked in the direction she pointed and saw the gray tree that seemed very far away, behind the square.

"Probably not," Ran Ran said uncertainly. "Everyone suspects it might actually be an illusion or something."

Zhong Xu nodded and said nothing more.

A bald man leaning against a street lamp stared at the two retreating figures and frowned.

"That's strange..."

"Brother Yuan, what's up?"

"Did you see that girl who just walked past? Doesn't she look like Shaofei's target?"

"She does look a bit like her. Didn't Shaofei say he'd take her card after toying with her for a while? How come she's still wandering around the streets safe and sound so late?"

"So stupid!" The bald man turned and smacked the other's head. "Hurry up and contact Shaofei!"

"Brother Yuan... I can't reach Shaofei!"

"Thought she was a little bunny, but actually ran into a tough one?"

"That one really is a little bunny, but I think the other girl beside her is the unusual one."

"Let's go, follow them!"

"Welcome!"

Entering the bar, the server standing behind the counter greeted them with a smile.

Ran Ran led Zhong Xu to choose a seat and sat down, saying happily, "This is the bar I often come to. The meals are delicious, and the alcohol is cheap."

Zhong Xu was starving and unceremoniously ordered a table full of food.

But before they could even start eating, a group of people walked into the bar aggressively from outside.

They scanned the seats and finally settled on Zhong Xu’s table, striding over.

Ran Ran immediately looked nervously at Zhong Xu: "Senior, it seems like their target is us..."

Zhong Xu had a bad feeling.

She could only hurriedly remind Ran Ran: "Ran Ran, your card's meaning is 'Hope'. Whatever you hope for can come true..."

The group had already reached Zhong Xu's table.

Zhong Xu calmly pulled out the chair beside her: "Brother Dan, have a seat."

"Brother Dan?" The few men were stunned for a moment.

The bald man said gruffly, "Stop trying to get chummy! Where's You Shaofei? Did you kill him?"

"Who is You Shaofei?"

Zhong Xu was puzzled, and Ran Ran also shook her head nervously.

The lackey next to him stretched out his hand, and his wristwatch immediately projected a photo. The photo clearly showed that red-haired, buzz-cut man.

"Oh... so it's Brother Tomato," Zhong Xu said with sudden understanding, then continued, "No, he's alive and well."

"Won't admit it? He went to catch this girl, but then he disappeared in the process! Now we can't even contact him!" The bald man pointed at Ran Ran fiercely.

Ran Ran's palms were sweaty, and she tightly held her bandaged, broken wrist.

Zhong Xu nodded and said, "It's normal that you can't contact him."

"What do you mean?"

Zhong Xu sighed and said, "He heard the divine bell, which cleansed his soul. Then he began to reflect on his past misdeeds and finally decided to accept the teachings and go on a journey to the Western Heaven to obtain the scriptures."

The bald man turned to his companion: "What did she say?"

Companion: "She said Shaofei went to the Western Heaven."

The bald man immediately glared in anger and slammed the table: "You're so vicious, you actually killed someone in the city!"

Hearing the conversation, customers at nearby tables looked over.

If this were the real world, they might avoid such situations if possible. But now, everyone held a card, and their courage seemed to have grown along with the card's meaning.

They were all gods, after all.

"Brother Dan, you can't just say things recklessly. I only said he heard the divine bell; I didn't say I killed him," Zhong Xu said slowly while drinking water. "Besides, you should know very well what your good brother's intentions were."

The bald man's eyes shifted.

Seeing how calm the other party was, he didn't dare to resort to force immediately.

"What card do you have?"

"You're asking me? You and your good brother are the same, both want to seize cards?"

Zhong Xu's voice was not soft, and the customers who were pricking up their ears to catch the gossip were startled.

Now, the looks directed at the bald man changed.

"What seizing cards? The man's dead and you're still slandering him," the bald man grinned. "Just wanted to borrow it for a look, that's all."

At that moment, a girl at the next table suddenly looked up and asked curiously: "You 'borrow' cards? Can one god hold two cards?"

Once her question was voiced, everyone's eyes changed.

Some nervously hid their own cards, while others had instantly greedy looks.

"I don't know about that," the bald man said with a hehe laugh, seeing his goal achieved, then stared intently at Zhong Xu like a snake. "How about this goddess lends me her card, and I'll demonstrate for everyone?"

Sweat had already beaded on Ran Ran's forehead.

Her mind was now blank—Hope? What hope? She couldn't remember anything.

Seeing Ran Ran like this, Zhong Xu felt even more helpless inside.

Probably, Ran Ran was relying on her, and her previous 'Hope' was triggered in a desperate situation, so it might be hard to trigger it again now.

She didn't care if she died here, but this group of hooligan-like gods made her really unhappy.

In the bar filled with tension and aggression, Zhong Xu forcibly suppressed the rising unease, smiled, picked up her own blank card, turned it over, placed it on the table, and lightly pressed it down with two fingers.

"Are you sure?"

Seeing her pick up the card, the bald man and his crew's eyes lit up, but hearing her say that, they became somewhat apprehensive.

"Bro, what's this person's background? Could she be from the Pantheon?"

"I'm worried it's a trick. If she's one of the Twelve Gods, we'll all die here."

"Bro, I don't want to die yet!"

The bald man collected himself and said with a laugh, “Hey, we mean no harm, we’re just curious.”

Zhong Xu pushed her finger forward—

Creak—

The chair scraped back as Ran Ran suddenly stood up, took a few steps back, and looked up at the ceiling with a tense expression.

Her reaction startled the bald man and his crew surrounding them, and they quickly stepped back too.

The ceiling? What’s on the ceiling?

Zhong Xu: “…”

She was just bluffing.

Ran Ran, who thought another giant bell would fall, really helped her create the perfect atmosphere.

Zhong Xu knew when to stop and quickly put the card away.

“Ran Ran, sit back down.”

Ran Ran, bewildered and cautious, sat back down in the chair.

The bald man and his crew, however, didn’t dare get too close anymore. Keeping a certain distance, they said, “Seems you’re a god with formidable divine power. May we ask what card you hold?”

“Why don’t you come see for yourself?”

The bald man and his crew didn’t dare step forward.

But just then, a voice came from the next table: “Shall I take a look?”

The speaker was the same girl who had spoken up earlier.

She wore twin tails and a bright, innocent smile.

Her face was that of a young girl, but her eyes concealed dangerous venom.

“You can look, but only if we exchange,” Zhong Xu had another idea in mind. If she could really seize and use others’ cards, then her blank card for someone else’s real card…

…was not a bad deal at all.

She added, “After all, your divine power is quite strong too.”

The girl giggled. “You noticed. But you’re really strange…”

She suddenly stood up, walked closer to Zhong Xu, leaned in, and said softly, “Why can’t I smell even a trace of divine power on you?”

“…”

The girl tilted her head toward Ran Ran and smiled. “With her, I can smell it. A small amount, but very potent. She’s the burst-type.”

Zhong Xu’s gaze instantly turned cold.

Could her ability also allow her to smell the cards on others?

“Why did your eyes suddenly become so frightening?” the girl asked curiously.

Zhong Xu thought that perhaps today’s chaos was destined to happen.

But right at that moment, a wine bottle was placed horizontally between the two of them.

A familiar, clear voice rang out: “Xiao Huan, don’t cause trouble here.”

Zhong Xu froze, surprised.

The twin-tailed girl called Xiao Huan was also astonished. “Huh? Didn’t you say you love causing trouble the most?”

The bald man and his crew began to slowly retreat.

The warm yellow light from the overhead lamps fell on that person.

Ji Zhou stood by the table holding a bottle of wine. He turned his head and smiled at Zhong Xu, his eyes bright and shining.

“This is different. This one is my boss.”

1. 众神殿 (Zhòngshén Diàn) - Pantheon, Temple of the Gods

2. 悬浮列车 (Xuánfú Lièchē) - Maglev Train (magnetic levitation), transportation system powered by Tarot card energy.

3. 仿生人 (Fǎngshēng Rén) - Bionic Beings, artificial humans

4. 神力 (Shénlì) - Divine Power, the supernatural energy derived from Tarot cards.

5. 牌意 (Pái Yì) - Card Meaning, the specific ability or concept a Tarot card represents.

6. 希望 (Xīwàng) - Hope.

7. 魔术师 (Móshùshī) - Magician

8. 太阳 (Tàiyáng) - Sun

9. 神的钟声 (Shén de Zhōngshēng) - Divine Bell, a metaphorical term for a purification or transformative event.

10. 西天取经 (Xītiān Qǔjīng) - Journey to the West, a cultural reference to enlightenment through hardship.

Characters / (Players)

• 终栩 (Zhōng Xǔ)

  • Role: Protagonist 

  • Game Role: Blank Card/Sinner

• 游戏制作人 (Game Producer)

  • Role: Creator of the game world; god-like figure

• 小蝴蝶 (Little Butterfly)

  • Role: Mechanical assistant 

~~~

尤少非 (Yóu Shàofēi) or Tomato Head: 寸头 / 番茄头 (Cùntóu / Fānqié Tóu)

Card: “Chariot”

冉冉 (Rǎn Rǎn)

Card: “Star”

光头 (Guāngtóu / Bald Man, nicknamed Dàn Gē)

Card: Unknown

双马尾少女 / 小幻 (Shuāng Mǎwěi Shàonǚ / Xiǎo Huàn)

Card: Unknown

季舟 (Jì Zhōu)

Card: Unknown

Sevyn here ~~~

Journey to the West was such a huge part of my childhood lol. 

An old acquaintance makes his appearance. Enjoy!